GREY, dismal, wet. That was Anneliese Fellingham's first impression of Rochdale when she came here to work in the 1950s.

Initially she struggled to fit in - the war was still fresh in the memory and people were wary of outsiders.

"It was hard in the beginning," said Anneliese, of Clough Road, Littleborough. "People had husbands and sons who had been killed just a few years before and foreigners were still treated suspiciously."

But the 76-year-old Czechoslovakian persevered. She made an effort to integrate, made friends, then met and married a local man.

Now, 50 years later, Anneliese calls Rochdale home and she wouldn't have it any other way.

She said: "It was October. There were chimneys belching smoke everywhere and it was foggy, cold and constantly raining.

"I thought 'Oh my God, I can't stay here'. It was difficult. I had to start talking in another language and thinking in another language and the people I knew were so far away.

"Now I love it here. The town has changed and the people have changed. They have become more accepting of other nationalities. They are more involved in politics and take a greater interest in the things that affect their lives.

"The people are very kind and they realise that we all share the same problems. You can talk and whinge to them and they will whinge back."

Anneliese was born in Czechoslovakia in 1930.

Following the Second World War her family was expelled from the country by the newly formed Communist government.

They were forced to leave everything they owned behind and spent three days and nights walking to the German border.

Anneliese said: "I don't remember being scared because when you are 15 it is like an adventure. But I was tired and I did not like having to sleep on the side of the road."

Eventually they made it to Bavaria. The family settled and Anneliese was able to continue with her studies.

She earned a summer placement working at an accountancy firm in Manchester in 1949 and in 1952 she moved to Rochdale permanently.

Ten years later she married colleague Ronald - who died in 2001.

Anneliese continued to work as an accountant and immersed herself in the life of the town.

She is the founder of Littleborough Pensioners' Association, a vociferous campaigners for pensioners' rights and very much a part of the community.

But what advice would she give to someone moving to Rochdale now?

"You must try and fit in and not try to change the country to your needs," she says. "You should integrate and adapt because you are a guest."